Sanal Nonukov

Senior Associate

- - sanal.nonukov@birchlegal.ru

About

Sanal specializes in complex commercial disputes in arbitrazh (state commercial) and arbitration courts and also provides full-service legal support in bankruptcy cases for individuals and legal entities, both on the side of creditors and debtors as well as their counterparties.

Disputes in which Sanal has been involved have greatly affected certain markets and have been repeatedly covered in the media, and some of them have become precedent-setting for Russian court practice.

In addition, Sanal is actively involved in preparing numerous legal opinions (memoranda) for his clients on the following issues:

  • developing in-court and out-of-court strategies to protect his clients' interests in various matters, including those complicated by bankruptcy and/or foreign elements
  • conducting due diligence on assets prior to M&A transactions, as well as assessing the litigation and bankruptcy risks of restructuring/closing their businesses in Russia and/or refinancing their debts to creditors

Experience

  • representing a major telecommunications company in five precedent-setting court disputes related to compelling a Russian company to fulfill the obligations of a foreign Eurobond issuer. The basis of the claims was to enforce the "anti-sanctions" Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 05.07.2022 N 430. This project was included in Kommersant's "Disputes of the Year 2023"
  • representing a major pharmaceutical company in bankruptcy proceedings against the debtor, another pharmaceutical company
  • representing a major Chinese automobile manufacturer in a complex project on the recovery of over USD 50m of damages from unethical Russian counterparties, including the liquidation and bankruptcy of legal entities as well as the application of international and ICC acts
  • representing one of the largest automobile dealers in Russia in a dispute with the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation related to a violation of anti-corruption legislation 
  • representing a well-known consulting company in the field of mining and mineral development in a dispute against one of the largest domestic mining companies under a service agreement for a feasibility study of integrated mine development 
  • representing a major domestic pharmaceutical company in a dispute over its subsidiary liability in a bankruptcy case of one of the companies belonging to another pharmaceutical group

Sanal’s experience includes his projects before joining BIRCH LEGAL.

Education

2026The Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation, PhD student
2018Russian School for Private Law, Master’s Degree in Law
2016National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), Bachelor’s Degree in Law

Languages

  • English
  • Russian

Career

2024–pres.Senior Associate, BIRCH LEGAL
2022–2024Associate / Senior Associate, ALUMNI Partners
2018–2022Paralegal / Junior Associate / Associate, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (Russia) LLP
2016–2018Trainee, Goltsblat BLP